Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Makes Massive Devaluation

It’s no secret that I have probably been the biggest Hertz fanboy for the past few months. I went as far as buying into their Platinum status for close to $1,400 just to get better upgrades.

However, they have me rethinking my loyalty today after they just massively devalued their rewards program. I want to say that I knew this devaluation would be coming but I didn’t know the extent of it until today.

On the lower end, Hertz raised the price of a regular one week rental by just 250 points from 2,500 to 2,750. That’s not too bad but when you look at the higher end Adrenaline Collection and Prestige Collection, they raised those prices by almost 90-105%.

2 days ago, a Ford Mustang GT Premium used to cost 4,500 points and about $50 in taxes. Today, it costs 8,250 points +$50 in taxes!

If you wanted a Mercedes E-Class, it would’ve cost you 7,500 points +$50 for the week a few days ago. Today, it costs 8,250 points + $50!

I’m actually really disappointed in the program now and probably will not continue to accumulate points in their program unless they run a ridiculous points promotion.

For people who recently got into the Hertz Gold program and took advantage of their 2X and 3X points promos, this just makes a lot harder to get a car! Also, if you’re sitting on those 15,000 points from Daily Travel Getaways, it will have an impact on your points as well.

However, rarely do you need to use those kinds of points to get the car you actually want!

Be sure to read Part 1 of my 2 part series on Hertz Rewards program to find out how to get a better car for little to no cost. In addition, the second part of my post will be published in the coming week!

Tahsir Ahsan (Bengali Miles Guru) flies over 200,000 miles per year. He helps people redeem miles all over the world as co-founder and senior award expert at Award Magic. Be sure to #FlyWithBMG on Twitter

Normal Gold? No. If you have status with them, they are a lot more lenient with upgrades!

shay peleg

What kind of gold do i get with the amex platinum?

Scottrick

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards with the $60 membership fee waived. But I can’t remember the last time they charged anyone that fee even without the card.

IMO, the main benefit of renting with Hertz if you have Amex Platinum is an extra 4 hour grace period before they charge you for another day. But I usually prefer National for the Emerald Aisle (Platinum gets you Executive status).

shay peleg

Executive status gives what?

Scottrick

Book a mid-size rental and pick any full-size you want from the Emerald Aisle. Keys are in the ignition. Also, a new service launched today offering further upgrades from $25/day.

I’ve found rental cars so consistently cheap through Priceline “name your own price” that I’ve stopped worrying about rewards (usually $15-20/day including taxes and fees and sometimes cheaper). But of course, I don’t care about upgrades, which plays a big part into my strategy.

KateFromCA

I find if you want a “free” car, it’s often a better deal to use Citi TY, etc. points because they cover taxes and all. I have booked a car for 9 days on Maui using Hertz points and the “taxes and fees” came to nearly $100, in addition to 3,700 points (while TY points cover the the whole cost). I still might cancel that reservation and use Barclays or TY or some other fixed value points for this rental (that’s what has happened a few times I thought of using my Hertz points – just not a good value).

On top of that, there is no way to make one reservation for more than 7 days with points, so unless they relent, I’ll have to drive to the airport after 7 days, return the car and pick up another one – definitely not something I want to waste my time on while on vacation.

My company has me rent from Hertz for work so I’ve accumulated a lot of points but I rarely actually use them because of those pesky out of pocket taxes and fees. As of late, I get 600 Southwest points per rental instead of Hertz gold points – I definitely have a use for those!

tahsir21

Hi Kate,
I’ve looked into that before but for me, I used to prefer the Hertz points. Now, I might look into booking with other portals!

disqust101

Pay $1400 for Hertz status? You are certifiable.

For somebody who supposedly “hacks” for cheap travel, I’m constantly boggled at how much you spend on travel. You’d do far better to learn how to do cheap MS – you’d travel better and at lower cost.

tahsir21

I don’t speak for anyone but myself. I choose the way I travel and what I buy to make my travel experience better. I take advantage of the same deals you might but I also take advantage of certain things I think would help me. I like to rent cars. I like to drive fast cars but I don’t want to have the same car all the time. Instead of paying $250/day for a high end car, I end up paying $0-$50/day for the same car. I’ve spent 65 days with hertz since April and if I didn’t have platinum status, I would be spending more than I would have to. Not to mention the small benefits I get from Platinum status.

http://weekendblitz.com/ Jeffrey @ WeekendBlitz

Crap! I’ve been putting all my eggs into the Hertz basket recently…might have to reevaluate and look into National?

abobakr

is it only possible to get points from hertz if you book online or by booking from Hertz offices directly? please explain

About Scott Mackenzie

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